2003/02/28 by R. Mélin, S. Peysson · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Andreev reflection #Condensed matter physics #Ferromagnetism #Josephson effect #Magnetic properties of thin films #Physics #Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Quantum mechanics #Quantum tunnelling #Reflection (computer programming) #Scattering #Superconductivity #cond-mat.mes-hall #cond-mat.supr-con
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.68.174515
published as Phys. Rev. B 68, 174515 (2003) · 18 pages, 8 figures, references added at the end of the introduction
arxiv created 2003/10/20 · openalex publication_date 2003/11/11 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We investigate several factors controlling the physics of hybrid structures involving ferromagnetic domain walls (DW's) and superconducting (S) metals. We discuss the role of noncollinear magnetizations in S/DW junctions in a spin\ensuremath\bigotimesNambu\ensuremath\bigotimesKeldysh formalism. We discuss transport in S/DW/normal metal (N) and S/DW/S junctions in the presence of inelastic scattering in the domain wall. In this case transport properties are similar for the S/DW/S and S/DW/N junctions and are controlled by sequential tunneling of spatially separated Cooper pairs across the domain wall. In the absence of inelastic scattering we find that a Josephson current circulates only if the size of the ferromagnetic region is smaller than the elastic mean free path meaning that the Josephson effect associated with the crossed Andreev reflection cannot be observed under usual experimental conditions. Nevertheless, a finite dc current can circulate across the S/DW/S junction due to crossed Andreev reflection associated with sequential tunneling.